A framework of integrating an RFID-enabled communication system into an automated storage and retrieval mechanism

A typical automated warehousing system consists of automatic storage and retrieval modules including lifting equipment and powered conveyor systems. These facilities are used to overcome some disadvantages of manually operated warehousing systems which often lead to a high frequency of human errors, high labour costs and low efficiency. The information system integration also plays a key role in speeding up data processing and coordinating inventory control and management in a warehouse. In recent years, it has also been seen a rising trend for online shopping across the UK as well as in many other countries. Suppliers or distributors have therefore been seeking for even more efficient and effective methods of storing and dispatching goods in a way of increasingly centralised distribution centres through which customers place their orders online and goods are dispatched automatically from storage and retrieval areas to collection points where these goods are packed and delivered directly to customers’ door steps. In order to achieve this functionality, a novel design of automated warehousing system through an integrated inventory data platform is desired. This paper presents a framework by proposing a novel design of future generation warehousing systems incorporating fast-growing IT applications such as radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless sensors and communication networks.